HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/03/1986 - Solid Waste Abatement Commission (2)CITY OF EAGAN
SOLID WASTE ABATEMENT COMMISSION
AGENDA
WEDNESDAY
SEPTEMBER 3, 1986
4:30 P.M.
I. ROLL CALL AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES
II. OLD BUSINESS
A. Review of Compost Awareness Survey Results
B. Recommendation of Additional Members
III. NEW BUSINESS
A. Solid Waste Abatement Concepts
IV. OTHER BUSINESS
V. ADJOURNMENT
MEMO TO: SOLID WASTE ABATEMENT COMMISSION MEMBERS
FROM: ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT HOHENSTEIN
DATE: AUGUST 27, 1986
SUBJECT: SOLID WASTE ABATEMENT COMMISSION
MEETING FOR SEPTEMBER 3, 1986
A meeting of the Eagan Solid Waste Abatement Commission is
scheduled for Wednesday, September 3, 1986, at 4:30 p.m., in the
Eagan Municipal Center Conference Rooms A and B. Please contact
Jon Hohenstein at 454 -8100 if you are unable to attend this
meeting. The following discussion is intended to provide
background on those items to be reviewed at the meeting on
Wednesday.
I. MINUTES
A copy of the minutes of the Eagan Solid Waste Abatement
Commission meeting of August 20, 1986, is enclosed for your
review on page (s) _ ,J . These minutes, subject to any
change, require approval by the committee.
II. OLD BUSINESS
A. Review of Compost Awareness Survey Results -
At the direction of the Commission, Staff has undertaken a brief
telephone survey of area residents to gauge awareness of the City
compost program, recycling services and the City clean -up
promotion. A list of area residents was randomly selected from
the City's utility billing list. Staff has been directed to
target between 50 and 100 persons for responses. At the
preparation of this memo, the survey is underway but not yet
completed. Results of the survey will be made available to the
Commission at its Wednesday meeting. A copy of the survey form
is attached on page b for your review.
The results of the survey may be used to help find the
promotional strategy the Commission would like to follow with
respect to the current waste abatement alternatives. In the
past, the City has advertised its waste abatement activities in
the local newspapers, the City Newsletter, church bulletins,
postings at retail establishments, compost site flyers and local
cable television. The City has yet to utilize paid advertising,
mailings through local utilities, direct mail programs or in-
school educational promotions. There are also alternatives not
listed here which may be considered for publicity. Commission
members may provide additional input in determining the best
means to publicize the various elements of the City's current
solid waste abatement effort. Staff will provide examples of
publicity in materials used to date to promote this and other
programs.
ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: To provide direction to
Staff in promotions for current solid waste abatement activities.
B. Recommedation of Additional Members -
Since the last meeting, one additional hauler has expressed
interest in serving on the Solid Waste Abatement Commission.
That individual is Mr. Duane Soutor of Action Disposal System.
His application for membership is being held by the City
Administrator's office until the publication of the next City
Newsletter, in which the availability of additional appointments
to the Solid Waste Commission is advertised. The City will
entertain letters from interested parties through the end of
September and the City Council will make additional appointments
to the Commission at its October 7 meeting.
Current members who know of individuals who may be interested in
serving on the Commission may make such persons known to the City
at this time. Those individuals should be asked to forward a
letter to the City indicating their interest and their
relationship to solid waste abatement, either as a citizen or a
business.
ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: Recommendations of
additional members to the Solid Waste Abatement Commission may be
made at this time.
III. NEW BUSINESS
A. Solid Waste Abatement Concepts -
For purposes of this business item, please refer to your Solid
Waste Abatement Staff Report pages 6 through 13. This section
covers the basic concepts and alternatives available to the
community for waste abatement. The Commission will review each
of these conceptual alternatives to provide groundwork for its
consideration of possible waste abatement strategies. To provide
additional background in this area from an industry periodical,
Larry Knutson has provided the excerpts from "Waste Age" for your
review. These copies are included in your packet on page(s)
'1 -tI
Specific proposals and detail work on certain alternatives will
be the subject of future Commission meetings.
ACTION TO BE CONSIDERED ON THIS ITEM: This item will provide
background to the Commission and no action is required on it at
this time.
IV. OTHER BUSINESS
V. ADJOURNMENT
The committee will adjourn at or about 6:00 p.m.
Ad istrative Assistant
cc: City Administrator Hedges
City Planner Runkle
JH /mc
MINUTES OF SOLID WASTE ABATEMENT COMMISSION
Eagan, Minnesota
August 20, 1986
A regular meeting of the Eagan Solid Waste Abatement
Committee was held on Wednesday, August 20, 1986, at the Eagan
Municipal Center at 4:30 p.m. The following members were present:
Larry Knutson, Earl Milbridge, Tom Mann and Jon Hohenstein. Absent
were Darlene Bakr and Delmer DeBilzan. Also present was City
Administrator Tom Hedges.
ROLL CALL AND WELCOME
City Administrator Hedges welcomed the committee members
and provided a brief description of the duties and expectations of
the Commission appointees. He indicated that the Commission members
were chosen for their expertise and interest in the area of solid
waste abatement. He described the parameters of the City Council
charged to the Commission to develop a solid waste abatement strategy
for the City of Eagan.
OVERVIEW OF SOLID WASTE ABATEMENT COMMISSION PURPOSE
Administrative Assistant Hohenstein provided a brief review
of the state law and Metropolitan Council guidelines which require
source separation of solid waste. He indicated that the disposal of
mixed municipal solid waste in sanitary landfills will be prohibited
in 1991. While the disposal of certain materials in landfills will
continue, it will be necessary for waste producers to remove glass,
aluminum, newsprint, corrugated cardboard, high grade office paper
and yard wastes from the waste stream through voluntary or mandatory
efforts by 1988. He indicated that the Commission has been asked to
develop its strategy within the parameters of the deadlines above and
the county solid waste master plan currently in preparation.
Administrative Assistant Hohenstein then introduced a draft
mission statement for the City of Eagan Solid Waste Abatement
Commission. Commission members reviewed the statements but indicated
that it would be more appropriate to take action on it when all
members could be present. Following such discussion, upon motion by
Knutson, seconded by Milbridge, all members voting in favor, action
on the mission statement of the Solid Waste Abatement Commission was
continued to a future meeting.
STAFF REPORT REVIEW
The Commission next discussed several elements of the
current solid waste abatement activities in the community and the
Solid Waste Abatement Staff Report. Mann indicated that education
and publicity would be an essential element in the development of the
solid waste abatement strategy and indicated that community awareness
of the compost program could be improved. The members suggested a
brief telephone survey to determine community awareness of the
compost program, City clean up day and recycling alternatives.
Results of the survey will be reviewed at the next Solid Waste
4.
Abatement Commission meeting. The Commission indicated that a
conserved effort to publicize the compost program, clean up day and
recycling alternatives be made immediately after the study is
completed to improve community use and awareness of the waste
abatement alternatives through the fall. The Commission indicated
that it was important to focus on publicizing the compost program as
a test case for waste abatement in the community.
INITIAL MEETING SCHEDULE
The Commission tentatively scheduled its next 2 meetings at
two week intervals. The meetings are to be on Wednesday, September
3, 1986 at 4:30 p.m. and Wednesday, September 17, 1986 at 4:30 p.m.
Both meetings will be held at the Eagan Municipal Center.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL MEMBERS
Administrative Assistant Hohenstein indicated that the
current Commission appointments consist of 6 members representing
various community perspectives. Up to 3 more Commission members may
be apointed, preferably one private citizen, one refuse hauler and
one representative of the Public Service Organization.
Administrative Assistant Hohenstein requested that Commission members
give consideration to acquaintenances who may be interested in
serving on the Commission. Recommended individuals should make their
interests known to the City Administrator's office and the City
Council will consider them for appointment to the Commission.
The Commission suggested that press coverage of the
beginning of their deliberations be encouraged and that such media
coverage include a reference to the need for additional members.
ORGANIZATIONAL BUSINESS
Administrative Assistant Hohenstein reviewed the
possibility of the Commission electing a chairman to lead discussions
and act as facilitator at Commission meetings. The Commission
indicated that it would prefer to take up that item in the future
when all members might be present to participate in the decision.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:45 p.m.
J DH
Date
.6.
SOLID WASTE ABATEMENT
AWARENESS SURVEY
Hello, this is calling from the City of Eagan. Do you have
a couple of minutes to answer 3 questions about waste abatement. (If not,
ask if you can all back at a better time as the City is very interested in
their response).
la. Are you aware that the City of Eagan operates a
free compost program for leaves, garden wastes,
and grass clippings on Saturdays from noon -6:00
p.m., just south of City Hall? (If no, repeat Yes
hours, location & materials). (If yes, do #1b.) No
1b. If so, have you used the site to dispose of com- Yes
post materials? No
2a. Are you aware of other recycling opportunities
available in or around the City of Eagan? (If Yes
yes, do #2b) No
2b. If so, which recycling services do you use?
Goodwill
Contract Beverages
Scout Groups
Church Groups
Other (describe)
3a. Are you aware of the City Clean -Up and Recycling
Days held at City Hall in the spring and fall? Yes
(If yes, do #3b) No
3b. If so, have you ever disposed of recyclables or
other materials at the Clean -Up and Recycling Yes
Days? No
Thank you for your time and if you have any questions about recycling or
compo please contact Jon Hohenstein at City Hall and the phone number
here is 454 -8100.
t,.
ajY `
' '" Editor's
Desk
Eeem
i
1
Recyclin g has a future
,... I
.
It all comes down to mar- worst cases above. Truly, and incineration —when it is S
kets. And, in the famed Wall New Jersey state officials economically feasible.
Street advice of J. P. Morgan, have exceeded all others in Given the current market
markets will fluctuate. avoiding making the hard conditions, such a statement
Based on that, we believe decisions. is taken by some to be a i
that someday in the future— Minnesota has done at non - endorsement of recy-
the sooner the better for all Least one crazy thing: ban-
concerned — professional cling. These folks have a
managers and re ning waste tire lan short memory, ry, and an even
waste
recy- without providing an alter- shorter attention span
cling advocates will be in the nate disposal means As a Markets will fluctuate. The I
same comer. result, every unrecappable price paid for waste paper
For now, however, they tire taken from a car or will be
are sharply divided. While higher than it is
truck in the state this year today; it also may be lower. E
some of the less - intellec- has gone to a stockpile! The same is true for all other
tually- honest proponents of But there are "best cases"; recyclables. �~
recycling are claiming that we think we've presented What's more, at long last
40 %, 60 %, or even 80% of a two of them in this issue, in the price of waste disposal ks'
given city's trash can be Cliff Ronnenberg and Gary going up! New Subtitle 13 t
reclaimed and reused, waste Petersen of California. These re k
managers (haulers and city gulations, which EPA is � � ;
gentlemen have staked a promising will significantly • ) . •
officials) are finding it diffi- good part of their financial alter the way refuse is land- t t
cult to truly recycle quan-
well -being on making a go of filled, will raise the cost of '
tities approaching 10% rec c
without losing money. Y ling ' that option.
In interviews with each, And if you figure in federal
By "truly, we mean collect the same sentiment was tax reform's to tax rate of 1
the stuff and sell it, too. repeated: "the market is 27% (reducing the appeal of9
Until someone buys and In fact, t
reuses a thing, it has not �� us." fact, a per- municipal bonds) and the V ,.;
been
reuses a thing, centage of the material each likelihood of continued lnwwi
Those crazy high per has handled in the past two (under $28 a barrel, at least)
centage projections have pro- years P i ces
has been sold at a loss; oil r cutting the amount • k`
that, of course, amounts to a Plant operators are paid fol. Il:
duced sad ends. Consider subsidy of recycling by these. energy, you can project future'*
Minnesota, which wants to two for -profit companies. resource rernvery pl
ban landfills. Its biggest city, Note that neither Petersen, ti
Minneapolis, has sharply cur the retailer, nor Ronnenberg, When , Wh e fee increase*.
st e disposer
tailed its recycling effort n a waste disposer �•
beca i drained from the wholesaler, has aban- can save money by recycling, kw
be to ra ned00 doned the recycling business. he should (and no doubt
They've heard about this will) consider that evaluating t '
annually from the treasury. Morgan fella, they rec c
Then there's New Jersey. and the Y Y erefo economics.
While legislators debate a believe what he had to sa . Therefore, even without
law making recycling manda higher prices paid for recycl
tory, officials in several pro- NI ables, recycling is likely to bel fk
a big hit in the 1990s. That's 4
gressive communities are Many advocates of boosting >w
cutting their pioneering recycling per- ' hauler to unrealistic no reason for into the i
efforts back. This in a state s get nto the busi - k""
centages do so because they It ness in a big way today. is, '$
where (a) less than two either want to avoid siting
years of existing landfill however, a stimulant for '
the next landfill or to kill off e
capacity exists, and (b) professional waste managers* w
c
waste-to-energy and ( b will a propos waste- burner. - to look hard at the equip
not be on-line for at least We don't think recycling meet and strategies currently'
should have its image sullied used in this country and in '
three years ... by such people. Recycling others, and to perhaps "ti
has a part to play in any toe" into recycling, to be !I 1
waste management scheme, ready for the future.
You could say we picked the right in there with landfilling
— J.A.S.
4
Waste Age/July 1986 5
4 - I k:
t
News Breaks Contd. r
s.,
Minneapol haulers see losses in recycling
i .
If you're considering a recy- $13,891 (about $15 a tonr taken directly to the recy- recylcables, the program may x
cling program, your first But Kutter alleges that the clers. No employees were be teetering Y
question should not be "How mg on the verge oft 4 N
report understates expenses. involved in separating the collapse (see the May Waste
much will I save ?," says He points out that only $82 materials.
president of P Age, page ow i
Chuck Kutter,
P is allocated for administrative Despite the economics, Kutter, however, sees an
Minneapolis Refuse, Inc. costs; and nothing is listed MRI submitted a proposal in opportunity to pick up the
Kutter says the first ques- for some other overhead December, 1982, to extend
lions should be along the costs. pieces. MRI placed what
lines should ould much will this the recycling contract. Under Kutter believes is a realistic l' •
Because MRI was already the proposal, the company's bid for city-wide recycling ?
cost ?," and "What's the rela- established, Kutter says, recycling service would have collection a
tionship between recycling these overhead costs were been linked to a five-year Tho gain s h w year
and my refuse collection taken for r ugh contract which
granted and not ref
operation ?" de refuse collection contract. began in June were given to
delineated. "To be accurate, The city's fee for recycling other contractors, Kutter
Kutter speaks from experi- you should add $5 to $10 a would have been increased believes that given the bids
ence. MRI, a consortium of ton to the expenses." If so, to $20 per ton (from the $17 (about $37 a ton), the city
50 private hauling firms that MRI's cost is closer to a ton the company had may
collect refuse from about half $55,000 for about 949 tons of received)—with p Y Y yet come to his
of the city's residences recyclables collected; leaving the company consortium.
of the s), residences de participated a loss of roughly � responsible for promotion If the city does negotiate
6
( 0 0 stop in the Minns over six months. $25,000 The service would have been with the company, Kutter r:
onths. expanded city -wide says, "we won't make a
apolis Curbside Recycling Another point Kutter exclu
demonstration project. makes is that he used older ( pre-existing pro- get into but lowe sing aren't ro going to
grams) and included all get into a losing proposition -
Minneapolis first looked at
trucks "which were made to colors of glass, cardboard, either."
a recycling program in 1981, look like new." The compa- used motor oil, and car
when annual disposal costs ny's collection trailers were batteries.
jumped from $1.6 million to new, though. The company would prob
$2.6 million. MRI was one of "If you are looking at aj ably have broken even on PEPCO subsidia -`
three participating con - recycling program, you are the contract, Kutter says, but 10 join plant purchase tis
tractors. looking at a $55 -a -ton cost,i profit wasn't the point of the ,•
From a financial point of and that doesn't include' program. The more you do ' An investment subsidiary of a
view, recycling was unattrac- profit," he sa s. During
five to the MRI consortiu �� the for the city, the better off ? Potomac Electric Power ;•,,,,..,' �•
Minnesota Refuse you are By participating in a Co. —the utility which has `
consortium project, Min
ro
According to a report on the serviced 18 neighborhoods or the `'
city curbside ec c program, it would help � refused to burn refuse in its " � �'
project, s d e re cd ling about 33,000 residents. The guarantee our garbage con -i* power plant boilers (see May ' "'��
company collected the mate- tract. It's good public ' Waste Age), may J '°='
Kutter's company paid out rials on a once -a -month a
$43,622 between July and relations. soon be a part owner of a . ;.,9;:m
$43
$43,622 between July and d basis, a two truck- "We make our livelihood planned 1,650 TPD refuse - .. '
( trailer system, consisting of a on our garbage contracts, so, burni plant in San Marcos, ki x
a ton) and received revenues single axle dump body truck we figured we didn't have to Calif. The investor - owned '• —
on the recy
from the sale of newspaper, towing a double axle trailer. make a profit h utility put � ?'
glass, aluminum cans, and Usually two employees utili will reportedly P
•
ut u e :. -,
loyees col- cling program." roughly $25 million, about
steel cans of $29,731 (about lected material, but some- '
$31 a ton). Minneapolis rejected MRI's half of the facility's total :: ';pf{
times three and four proposal for several reasons. equity investment.
So according to the report, employees were needed. City officials believed the city r eff:
the company's net loss was Collected materials were would be better served by r.�
t tt
.. ...
multiple contractors with ;. :,
Group goes under; R °;
Gas prices to drop shorter contract terms to ?COn
increase the level of competi insurance blamed :,`.Site
Commercial natural gas The bright side: the rat y lion; and that the recycling T 'e"'
ling The ruck Body & Equip- , ,.eXp
prices will decline 18% over ural gas "bubble " — excess contract should be kept sep- , ment Association, based in r' '= %
the next three years, supply —will decline in size arate from refuse collection. " Washington, D.C., told its • ,: -
} r�
according to George H. Law- rapidly over the same period. Since then, Minneapolis members recently that it is C�St
rence, president of the The bubble is projected to has expanded its recycling dissolving ' itself ; , ; ,st,
American Gas Association. be one trillion cubic feet by i primarily
+:
y program to a city -wide oiler- because it can no longer 4 bale
This will have an impact on 1990; in 1985, it was 3.6 tril- ation using other contractors. obtain insurance coverage at `
the prices paid for natural lion cubic feet. Due to low participatioq reasonable prices. �' "}
gar• - rates and low prices foil M
12 WasteApdJrly 1986 44: -A 1'
d
j vrf)�..
St
F 1 .�
F ive Perspectives
O na
6 y„ S z i 5,. ti ,' a„& "kt ' '.- N ',* ,„,,,,,„:,,,,,,,,..„.„...,.....,,„,„,vs
:; fi-,'\'' vt,s1,44.v...,..,,-)4:::,:::::c.,.,.. ,..z 4 ti '- 4.‘''".; ': )0 le -: t rrt;4":,..: b):: rf- "---;::%"
,.„..„..,,,,,,,,„, , .,..,,, , „,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i„,........„..,,,,,,„,,..„,...„,,,,, ,,,, .,...,,,, .., - - y , - ” a , q:. 14) -!•4 , V" .4 - ` 'i . a P ✓ p ' y ;s -' 4 # 8 s_'r " 3 - `_ ` L '� ”' 2@$ r= x *‘." ;,V" -'t' ,' t t-; " '' .
t R e c ' certainly is a hot paper even though the demand for existing stocks is I
c3' �g Y
+ topic right now, especially in strictly limited. r
if i
' 1 cities, states, and regions As a result, the usual supply channels are circumna-
where existing sanitary land- vigated, and the high taxes paid by the average citizen
fills are nearing capacity and for the removal of his domestic waste are also leading
new solid waste disposal facilities are not being sited to the suffocation of paper collections organised by
quickly enough The following "forum" of sorts presents charities and the recycling industry.
several interesting viewpoints on the subject, all of
recent vintage, from agencies, individuals, and groups If We Cant �o It .
with a heavy stake in the future of recycling
Calvin Lieberman, quoted below, is the special
Th e View in Europe assistant to the president for environment and legis-
lation at
The following is an exact reprint of a press release the Institute of Scrap Iron and Steel These
remarks were included in a presentation he made
issued on April 2 in Brussels by the Bureau Inferno- last year to a Conference on Materials Recycling
tional de la Recuperation, the international recy- sponsored by the New York State Legislative Commis -
N cling group. The headline on the release: 'Huge sion on Solid Waste Management
Subsidised Waste Paper Stocks Undermine European
Market" The scrap industry has been so successful over the
years in recycling millions of tons of materials, that we
According to waste paper traders, the current system can understand the attraction to use this means to
of collecting and stocking domestic waste paper is pre- reduce disposal of wastes. However, one must carefully
cipitating a crisis in the industry similar to that caused examine what "recycling" means, as well as just why all
by the European Community's agricultural policy. wastes cannot be and are not candidates for this
In 1984, the economic climate favoured the paper approach
industry and this, in turn, increased the demand —at First, one must • realize that despite the best efforts
realistic price levels —for the secondary raw material: of our industry to recycle just one important item, fer-
waste paper. rous, commonly called iron or steel, the last report by
In 1986, demand continues at a high level, but prices Robert R. Nathan Associates showed almost 744 million
have plunged to a point that makes the commercial tons of iron and steel scrap available in the United
collection and sale of waste paper an uneconomic States at the end of 1983. Add to that the enormous
proposition. tonnage of 80,000 tons per day of ferrous, and we have
The deterioration in this situation can be attributed over a 20 -year supply at the current rate of
to the increasing tendency of municipalities and pn-
vate companies employed by them —to become
involved in the collection of domestic waste papery
These activities are, to a large extent, subsidised by
consumption.
' Now here is an industry founded, and operating,
solely within the recycling concept — unable to find a
home for all of the available scrap iron in the country.
taxes paid by householders for the disposal of their Matched against that'situation is the proposal that
refuse. "recycling" should be increased.
To make matters worse, legal authorities often have What is really meant, I am afraid, is not "recycling"
to pay considerable sums to private organisations to but "recovery" of materials, in the vague hope that they
remove the huge amounts of waste paper already col- can be sold and remelted to make new products. The
lected. In the Federal Republic of Germany, for , important question therefore is, put simply: if we,,
example, the local authorities continue to collect waste, (the scrap industry) can't do it, then how can anyone t
Waste Age/July 1996 29
q.
Recycling Contd.
else do it? e
. - `'products in price and quality.
... We should not gild the lily, you deserve better.
At the moment and for the immediate future, recycling
of materials will have minimal impact upon your landfill Citizens Group's Questions
problems at best, and will be an expensive distraction A recent report from a citizen advisory group in
of funds and attention at worst. We wish it were other- Pennsauken 7burnship, Pa, on solid waste disposal •
wise. — Calvin Lieberman options included the following ng section on recycling.
The savings associated with recycling are derived from
The PQA Law two sources: revenues obtained from selling the mate- • rials, and savings realized by avoiding disposal fees at1 y
Richard Keller, manager, procurement and waste the landfill for the material that is recycled To sully
managemen4 for the State of Maryland's Department realize the aformentioned savings, the materials to be
of Natural Resources' Energy Office, made the fol-
collected must be carefully selected and should possess
lowing points in a longer presentation at the 1985 two qualities:
Solid Waste Forum sponsored by the Association of 1. They should have an interested and competitive t
State and Territorial Solid Waste Management buyer;
Officials. 2. They should com
•
prise prise a significant portion of the
Landfill capacity, siting, cost, and environmental factors, municipal waste stream to afford actual landfill savings
particularly in the Northeast, have caused many state when recycled.
and local officials to closely examine recycling as an The only material currently satisfying both re
alternative to landfilling. Such states as Pennsylvania quirements is used newspaper, in that it represents
and New Jersey are proposing dramatic increases in approximately 8% of the municipal waste stream and
recycling rates and fundings for recycling programs. has a market price of between $5 and $25 per ton.
At the same time, however, recycling markets are at Pennsauken has done reasonably well when you con
extremely depressed levels. This raises the important sider that, as of September, 1985, used newspaper was
question of where will these materials go after they are being sold at only 25/100 weight. The Township is
collected? Without adequate markets, the cost of col- receiving approximately $6.50 per ton per month aver -
lecting the materials will most probably exceed the rev August through October. When this figure is
enue derived from the sale of materials. added to the cost avoidance figure (the dollars saved
by not landfilling), Pennsauken is averaging approxi-
One program to create markets is governmental pure
chases of recycled products, such as recycled paper.; mately $38 per ton in revenue.
Governments need a commitment to buying recycled 1 But it is costing Pennsauken $254 per ton per
products to assure effective recycling programs. month to collect the used newspapers a deficit of
T understand how to make affirmative procurement $216 per ton per month. Pennsauken Township can-
programs work, let me explain the PQA Law of Recy- 1 not be compared to other communities in tipping fee
cling. PQA stands for Price, Quality, and Availability./ cost avoidance because of Pennsauken's host com -
Any recycling program can be understood by PQA; as munity benefits...
an example, a community recycling program must get a
good price (P) for materials, must meet the vendors' Other recyclables 4
quality (Q) specifications, and must have available (A) comprise only 5%
( ) Aluminum cans, on the other hand, com
markets and be available to the public. of the waste stream and offer no chance of disposal
In establishing an affirmative procurement program savings. However, at $600 to $800 per ton, this material
for recycled materials, the price (P) must be competi- is extremely valuable.
five with virgin materials, the quality (Q) must be com- Glass, which com
petitive, and the recycled products must be available comprises up to 8% of the municipal
solid waste, is the second most commonly recycled
(A) in the marketplace. Maryland, California and New i item. Glass represents approximately 10% of the
York have managed successful programs for buying 1 municipal waste stream, which would realize a signifi-
recycled paper products, and have found available recy- cant disposal savings. Recycled glass has recently been
sled paper products which are comparable to virgin affected by
30 Waste AgeJJuy 1986
10•
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Recycling Contd.
t
4 -
1 Container manufacturer's twitchto for bev- ' Nearby county loses money z
- 'erage containers. ,
2. An influx of green and amber crushed glass from
container deposit states and foreign manufacturers. In certain areas some segment of recycling may be
3. A drop in the price of raw materials used in man- , beneficial. Oregon, in 1984, recycled 75% of all of the
ufacturing of glass causing a greater reliance on virgin newspapers in the state, and Colorado recycled 76%
mate, • of all the aluminum cans sold ...
The relatively steady price of glass has recently The percentages quoted are to be commended, but
dropped and ranges between $5 and $35 per ton. the paper in Oregon represents 8% of the waste
Separating glass is recommended because of the, stream; what of the other 92 %? Again, Colorado recy-
damage it can do to the (waste- to-energy) facility. Thee cled aluminum, which represents 5% of the waste
1
removal of glass will increase the life of the facility ... stream, has the best market of all recyclables, and
Finally, an item that is extensively used is plastic. gives the best return on the dollar; but again, what
Plastics are manufactured from the raw materials of about the remaining 95 %?
crude oil and natural gas. Many plastics are recyclable. Consider some of the counties in South Jersey. The
The most commonly recycled plastic at the post con- seven counties, from Burlington to Cape May, had an
sumer level is the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) in average yearly loss on recycling of approximately l•
one -, two -, or three -liter beverage containers ... $90,000 in 1982. Even Woodbury, the most quoted -
There are a number of problems which must be recycling community, had an operating loss of ap-
overcome before the recycling of plastic becomes a proximately $19,999 in 1982. _
commercially viable program ... Other townships such as Berlin and Montclair, con-
sidering all their aspects, had an operating gain of
approximately $40,000 per year in 1982 ... '
Pros and cons
In looking at the pros and cons of recycling, consider Conclusion
the following
• 80% of the waste stream is generated by the In the event the market is saturated with recycla-
household. By recycling, we could conserve our natural bles and the surplus must be warehoused, what
resources, reduce our waste stream, reduce our tipping happens over a period of time when the allotted
fees at the landfill, and extend the life of the landfill, space runs out? Who pays the cost of warehousing
along with receiving funds from the state based on ton - the surplus?
nage delivered to a recycling facility. It must be noted Are the recyclables going to be landfilled back in
that the monies received from the state of New Jersey Pennsauken? This is just what we are trying to avoid
are taxpayers' monies. Who pays the cost of trucking the surplus to a landfill
• With recycling being mandated by the County of either in Pennsauken or somewhere else?
Camden and the County developing a recycling facility, ... We commend the state of New Jersey and the
the Municipalities would also benefit by sharing in County of Camden for initiating a recycling facility and
profits at the recycling facility. This would also save for taking the burden of establishing markets and
time and money associated with marketing the recycla- buyers. Our concern is that despite our recycling pro -
bles, and will hopefully achieve a greater market sta- gram, the collection costs will continue to mount and
bility for municipalities. the return of the dollar for the recycled goods will
• On the other hand, by a glut of recyclables on continue to drop due to the market surplus. This will
the market, the cost return per commodity diminishes. determine the overall operating costs. •
Although the cost of separation and any specialized In the event the communities continue to be in the '
equipment should not be considered when the county's red (negative cash flow), how long will the state allow
facility is operational (as they will handle that aspect), townships to deficit spend?
the cost of collection is still a major factor.
It is the taxpayers' money which will be used to
fund many of these projects. From June, 1985, to
October, 1985, Pennsauken had a grand total opera- Haulers Are In Best Position
net loss (for recycling) of $41,901.72. - Dr. Charles A. Johnson, technical director of NSWMA,
(Continued)
32 WasteAge'Jdy 1986
AI
1t.
1
Recycling Contd.
presented a talk on `Now Much Recycling Can We not likely to mean a reduction in work force, equip-
Afford?" to the 1986 Pennsylvania Recycling Confer- merit required, closure costs, monitoring
ence. This excerpt is taken from his presentation oppplie, or
aany of the other variable costs of landfill operatioon
the "I fact, a recycling operation may reduce revenues to 1
Consider the economics of recycling. One question that cover its landfill prattin an „ increase in tipping fees to
is always asked is whether or not a saving in disposal The one situation where clearly a saving
costs should be credited for the recycling operation ... fees can be credited to the recycling operation n is the
(An example) of where it is questionable whether or situation in which a waste collector is able to reduce
not to credit the disposal savings is when the saving
is his disposal costs by means of his recycling activity.
hypothetical Consider the case of a municipality oper- This occurs in a situation where a collector is dil-
ating a landfill for which it charges a tipping fee of, posing of his collected wastes at a landfill at which he I
say, $20 per ton If that community were to institute a
recycling pro pays a posted gate fee, most likely based on tonnage. I
gram, would it be fair to credit the pro- With a gate fee of $20 per ton, a hauler can save $20 i
gram with $20 per ton savings on disposal fees? for each ton of material which he is able to remove
The answer probably not. With the typical reduc I
bons in waste attainable with recycling from the waste stream and sell as recyclable material �
unlikely that the 1e programs it Of course, he will also consider the monies received
community will realize an actual say- from the sale of the recyclable material itself Usti-
ings in landfill costs in proportion to the reduced ton-
Wage. A reduction of a few percent in waste received is mately, the solid waste hauler is probably in the best
position of any party to make recycling work. 1 _
O
•
O fic)c)k T' he e Container
�► Handling
• —� .. System
°
. that s..,
1 • • FASTER & SAFER i
``
-can pick up a 22 ft /40 yd capacity container i
34 seconds Q 1500 RPM n
Z ----
I - inside controls: driver never leaves the cab
--.0°°°°°.■■&- *4 • VERSATILE
i ' o
• ;Q`;p1� -picks up from docks & pits: at angles up to 30°
II
Marrel Hydraulics Division • Whittaker Corporation
260 West Main St., Suite 106B
� I Hendersonville, TN 37075 • (6I5) 822 -3536
yN,= whl__tta
0
°fir o I 1 - AMPLIROLL® De a ler Inq uiries
`` Container Handling Systems Invited
Circle No. 27 on reader service card I
Wa sl eAB e�J Uy 1986 37
1
• .
A Tale of Two
Cal
•
One focuses on the reta end of recycl the other's a
wholesaler. They share one thing: a commitment to the future.
The recycling business mercial recycling efforts, brokering recyclables, and its
begins when a consumer Stanton drop -off center, CR&R gathers large quantities
y r buys a product or a con
-11 - U Uof recyclables for direct sale to end - users.
tainer made of material that
. can be reused. Along the `We've made the mistakes'
way, between the moment that consumer discards the Gary Petersen began his efforts in 1972, selling sub -
t item and its ultimate reuse, it must be skillfully col- scriptions for recycling pickups to affluent residents of
lected, handled, processed, packaged, sold, and Malibu and Santa Monica A homeowner there, for a
transported fee of from $3 to $5 per month, could have an Ecolo-
In Southern California, people working for and with Haul truck stop at his home and pick up recyclables.
Gary Petersen's Ecolo-Haul and Cliff Ronnenberg's ' That idea didn't take off, Petersen admits, but he
CR&R Inc. do a good deal of that "in between" work. adds that it wasn't as hard to sell as it may sound: "If
. Partially as a result of these two companies' commit- you can sell radio advertising, you can sell anything."
ment to recycling, residents there have been paid more
during the recently concluded downturn in the market •
for recyclables than would have been the case. 1 `If you don't motivate, the
Petersen says his organization has pioneered many • ,
recycling programs. An environmental - minded indi people will throw it away
r. vidual who owned his own radio station at age 21, he
decided sometime after Earth Day to start a company
that would "do something positive for the environment In the next two years, Ecolo -Haul got into drop -off
and stand on its own two feet." centers (taking over units run unprofitably by non-
The something positive accomplished by Ecolo -Haul, profit groups); office paper recycling ( "this was very
now 14 years old, is making the "retail" end of recy- lucrative," he remembers); and several curbside recy-
cling work. The company specializes in collecting cling experiments.
, recyclables from consumers. The curbside effort, initially located within Los
Ronnenberg's commitment to recycling was born as a Angeles city limits, was ham pered 12 years ago by a
result of his ownership of Stanton Disposal, a waste city scavenging ordinance. The ordinance divided the
hauling company. In the mid - Seventies, the company sidewalk into a public and a private side; materials left
responded aggressively to Stanton officials' request that on the public side of the sidewalk were classified as
it offer some kind of recycling option to city residents. refuse —and picking them up for recycling was a
d
Less than a decade later, the recycling company violation of the law.
lii (CR&R) has grown to a size that dwarfs Stanton Dis- Petersen may well have seen it alt His 14 years of
posal and one other solid waste hauling company recycling experience, he says, include working to set
owned by Ronnenberg in sales volume. CR&R concen- up local operations in such far -flung sites as Boston
trates on the `wholesale" end of recycling. Through the and the South Pacific nation of Palau.
servicing of more than 100 area buy -back centers, com- "From having been involved in this so early, we have
made all of the mistakes," he notes.
By JOE SALIMANDO
Waste Age/July ises 39
teas
13.
stc+ a A i r ....-., trt ,, , .‘ ......,,,,....,,.. 440t„ ..-4
:--vi :' ,-4
Recycling Contd. z , „
� b ■
IR ( � 4 1 4
When it comes to recycling, Southern -(- . l+�tl t rairq c
Ye b t1V
California means business. Clockwise, —r -- t ( r
from right: A CR &R truck loaded with ^ f,� lc ' � - 4 4 _
aluminum sits in the yard; a "bell" is "
hoisted for unloading by a Hiab crane;
and Ecolo- Haul's Gary Petersen stands ,�-- ..:_±•± ; _ �.
by his company's name.
i
i
------- 11M ' : -.' "i'''.. Tr. ::' ,:,.. **Vi..&_,, kt* : ,...., . .
b �' ' ::::k
. ._'1
gym.
EC 'CLING SERVICES = M --* - #
DIAL RECYCLE !I' ....... ......,.. _.......
.n 1.1 , „......... ,.....,,.., , \
_ . . F r i
,, - _
• • � [ ti ' .....«•....:a.
:" , , =r ;
What Ecolo -Haul is doing additional funds from its handling of recyclables col-
lected by a small pilot curbside effort now being tried
He is perhaps most proud of his role in helping by the city of Los Angeles.
Santa Monica (Calif.) city officials to design what is t
often called the most comprehensive municipal recy- Interesting innovations
cling effort in existence. Using a variety of techniques,
including curbside pickup of recyclables in some neigh- A lot of what Ecolo -Haul is doing seems interesting,
borhoods, the city is able to salvage for reuse approxi- but much of it is old hat to Californians. Consider, for
mately 400 tons per month out of a refuse volume of instance, the vending n aclurie" boncept for)
about 300 TPD. aluminum cans, in which a machine" dispenses cash fors
According to Petersen, Santa Monica residents not `recycled aluminurii. While it is new to many parts of
served by the curbside pickup program "do not have to the country, it is a part of history to Petersen he sold
walk more than one - eighth of a mile" from their front 45 machines installed in area shopping centers and
doors to the nearest recycling facility. One reason for supermarkets in another recycling enterprise to Rey-
that proximity is color -coded two -yard containers nolds Aluminum more than 12 months ago.
placed in alleys in the city. Glass, aluminum cans, and "A lot of the things we do are attempts to formulate
newsprint can easily be deposited in these containers; an integrated approach to recycling," says Petersen
in fact, at first, it was too easy. "The recycling industry has been in what I call a Thir-
"The city had problems with scavenging, so they had ties -type depression. I may be a recycler, but in most
to reduce the size of the openings in the containers," respects I'm a hauler just like anyone who hauls refuse.
Petersen explains. "Now it's easy to drop the material I need to get X number of dollars every time I open
off, but it's not so easy for someone to take it out" my doors or my truck runs down the street, or I'm in a
Some city residents pilfered the recyclables to sell lot of trouble."
them at the buy -back center Ecolo -Haul runs for Santa Even in this atmosphere, Petersen has continued to
Monica on a contract basis. The company's experience seek ways of increasing recycling rates. The most
has helped make maximum use of a relatively small recent program is the use of `bells" designed especially
space, which in turn has helped the center take in - for glass collection. The California Glass Recycling Cor-
40 Waste Age Ady 1986
\4.
,
Recycling Contd.
1St t s''^ . . . Cc„"b ' "?i„ • t �+ .v t Y#d' i'�a c A
r _ proper bin in a recycling truck.
1e D111 t e � �
"We can take etersen "
ta these bells an d put them m a grocery
< � � st parking lot," says P They don 1ook�A
The nu Ei have see • s � �� en �u � a refuse container, so we won get p lain old gar bage
California recy b ' have come to a compro• thrown into them; and they make for convenient recy-'
more than d us t th e de • - : . ., , L = - , cling. It's fabulous " 4
price`s • `� d fo m ate 3 , • i $ . •
AL/
. „5' � 1 L • gy °z • 1 " y g `The str dollar hurt' I _ 1
s f ,-
r �, 5 Cliff Ronnenberg's comp moves massive volumes of
i �ta�'} 81 ci • Y atl t ns,a � • ' i �a } 31, ae F 4 s t'! �t t. ' d ta a • �, recycl how does more than 1 tons a month of i
} y, a ii,'Si- g ru ° �°? "� l +� ta �4� c 7 • o et 7
,fi ro• •sed," ° l. +�r °'R$�' a soun Using two HRB 10 balers, CP
an ht ] a on w ould } ` . 5 – can flatterers, vanlous pieces of yard equ from
x u Caterpillar, Peterbilt and G M tractors, Bemars t rai lers, c • have been sinrlar to a law � �i * ; Y l�. � a �- `r
a d a a as �.
passed eailierr► New Yor a� an d Fairbanks scales, CR &R usually is able to deliver
s tate There, a fiv =c nt �� `h�§ Paz; � s �' .�
recycl to end user customers on a few hours • deposit o n im bow � �ti l ► � � t : after they were brought to the company's Stanton �'�
and CaLIS'S t1ITlulat P& rt - " " 4� +^� • '!• %� i
to bring their empty co s �t t= „ t r Pr ocessing site.
tamers back the p ®,, t . " It s a high volum low margin business, says the
purchase ' r ▪ Y � 9 s r: ,�Y a +i fiS . tRe r a
t + l owner " In order to mak it work we have to every
7 > In Calrforrua, • , ' °a >� i� „ �� ' ! "a "� = compe titive. We place a high value on service —an d we
hav meant ▪ the de�ath _ ,� � ;,� .� °"�'� � � '' "x " •'�^
"" Hide ourselves on being a full service company, to all
v o lu n tary recycling rncu st� s + a + w },, +,p� =c P
n Gary Petersen o Ecolo ��� •'� • - `° c u s tomers. So with 10 or 20 pounds of cans who Sou
clauns , ° �� �ap a drives • here i n his car i just as welc as a
y Sa y s Petersen h� ° a ! �� Y comm ercial account who sells u 100,000.
l li}�!F te s��2 • S°S , � . • eC
As note above, CR&R grew out of Stan ton Dispos a
Fs cn a t a ..i
�r " ' . ! • �4 % �. a `t tx al need to establish a local recycli center in the
x „�• ,� x �: $ " � mid Seventies. The Stan ton center, a pioneering effort There's • If % I can't collect and ' ° • b • es w hen it was established, is still open to t he public; In a ye
e F ..uE e R xi: } '' " a y w b ll�(� t i r �+
money on al . tie t rec dropp o ff at the site are moved by fork- electric
, collect o materials, e e 1e �- � +.' � i • - �' � a f hundred feet over to the HRB 10 balers. oil. Arc Half
because alumrn is the ▪ r ! e a R'a .� rr ! ! of value
z -� -:.•,' " = Back in the Seventies Ronnenberg s vision tran-
Res
COIr1Iil for W rve Can ti a . el 1 +� e a t "fit t ° , ' , ' 0
pay the consumer the most + fllrttr reby cling^��, r. scended Stanton's borders. He saw money
opportunity in
�• - x a` `r "�3l54Yo'� �`' becoming th f w coordinated all o f the small Inc. is 0
money , . . r up
<_ +, " +� ` '' '-+-r' ° '� loads from other such centers that were springing
ty's hou
� �, � firm pr
. "��"�' n and gave them good service. :
x Y` .e ° ,e , C� a 1 € Ii��CMa a d
n • �o: ;w b, � p , � �i. a "These s mall centers need two ty of serv that of i
glass ., Y ' .' „
we provide t ex "First t have little or no
glass result would hav k, rt + sy stem;
been disastrous many, no •p e comprgs storag space. They rely on us to schedule our pickup sy stem s
most, 9...,_ . e bu - en � � • on .a ands •e I� s to fit their needs — usually within 24 hours.' Th
tiers wou ve :closed.- , { �w�mo
qq - „2•�. � "Second, they can b marginal ope rations, fman- equipme
:down 1? �� d ally— e sp ecia lly in th env ironment we 've had for the duct l e '
o Petersen ks q uot e d there _ • si • n to the fro
+ , v ; �3 knuckl .
pas -� . >= past two yea So we pa y them qui some
we
the t tense ec a use fh e w �. . se Q�! _ ” start the
state s vo luntary rec ryad�sa ar J A can do thanks to our IBM computer. Checks are in the
' � ` r *fit `�"° + �t� �� m ail w ithi n 2 4 hou rs for alum that we have pur from the
�F wf,•. + � , � . �.� onto twi
�. ,r �a �. � � r ..
chased; f or newsprint, we pay twice a month The two •
poration imported this concept from Europe. CR &R takes the long view feede to
Their distinctive shape is one advantage. Another is
the quick collection process: with the skillful use of a For an unspecified period CR&R was sending out HAMME:
Hiab cran e (install ed on a GM Astro truck), the bottom checks that might have bee a little fatter than market .Shredder
mers she
drops out of the bell and cans and bo ttles fall into the prices for recyc justified And Ronnenberg is
grates co
44 waste nge/Jul' 1986 Shreds 5.
' managea:
Recysling Contd.
always sure to get the best market price: his company Consumers would have gotten out of the recycling
sells direct to U.S. users and also exports. habit. If you don't motivate the people with an attrac-
But for that low -priced period, Ronnenberg was, five price for recyclables, they will throw the recyclable
essentially, subsidizing some of the 100 or so recycling materials away.
centers from which his trucks make pickups. "So I guess your could say we took, and still take, the +
"It has been financially brutal in the recycling market long -term view. Our position was to keep the recycling
during 1984 and 1985," he says. "In my opinion, anyone centers up and running at significant volumes, even kt
who told you they were making a profit in recycling a loss. We did this because we believe in the recycling'
was not giving you the straight story. We know, business, we are committed to it as a company and as •
because we've made a profit in prior years in this individuals. We believe the market will return, and we '
business. will once again be able to make a profit in this i
"But prices paid for the materials in this recently business." =-
concluded period were so low that you could not make Ronnenberg's faith in the market has been well -
a profit —even us, even with our drop -off center, placed, he noted recently, as the market for recyclables
wholesaling, and brokerage operations. has bounced back. Partially as a result of this commit -
"We simply felt that we could not cut the price we ment, he says, his company grew significantly during
paid to the recycling centers —the retailers —by as the down period. It is now handling 1,000 tons of alu-
much as the price we were being paid was cut. If we minum, 6,000 tons of newsprint, and 300 tons of glass .4.
had, the volume of recyclables would have fallen off per month through the drop -off center, brokering, and
dramatically. wholesaling operations.'" -
"Eventually, some of the centers would have closed. 1.
Over 20 baler models;. including Wide-
Mouth Horizontal and Open End System
Balers:All meet or exceed ANSI standards.
•
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/4
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Call 800 - 447 -3526 to learn more , 7 S _ ? ' „ ` � , , g
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CONVEYORS. is
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800 - 447 -3526 (GA: 800- 847 -3526) -4 ' _
or 912 - 367 -4661
Circle No. 33 on reader service card' C
46
Trends in
Collecting ec
c a to, es
• F of an NSWMA survey of municipal recycl efforts
•
are reported in this, part one of a two -part article. Next
month: recycling program costs versus benefits.
Many parts of the country Were the city delivers regular trash service or
are beginning to see a elects to specify service for recyclables, planners must
i Al shortage of space to landfill
Z �n,' > p choose among other operating options:
municipal solid waste. This • . whether collections should be made curbside; •
growing scarcity is • whether they should coincide with regular trash
prompting some states to consider every option that service?
• might avert a crisis. • which materials will be recycled; •
One option is to recycle waste materials. The poten- • where they should be sorted, etc:
tial for recycling, however, will be severely constrained
by persistently weak markets for recycled materials and
other problems attendant to re -using solid wastes. The NSWMA survey
Many municipalities have encouraged and sponsored To describe the experience of recycling in its various
recycling programs for years. Today, however, munici- forms and its impact on waste management, NSWMA
palities face state legislative directives to instigate a developed a questionnaire covering operations, markets,
recycling program as an express part of their solid revenues, costs, and cost savings.
waste management plans. The municipalities in turn The questionnaire was designed to capture all the
may require their residents to participate in the recy- possible scenarios under which a recycling program
cling effort. might operate (see Table One). For instance, in case a
Instituting an effective recycling program presents a recycler collected different materials on different
series of problems and challenges t� municipalities. schedules or in different areas
Enlisting public support and participation is one such ,questions concerning
volumes, revenues, prices, and collection methods were
challenge; perhaps even greater is that of securing a specific to each particular materiaL Only cost, employ -
market for recyclables. Markets for secondary materials ment, and financial support data were reported for
are notoriously erratic. Moreover, the demand may be overall operations.
controlled by one or a few users. One series of questions was specifically designed for
In addition to assessing the volume of materials that , curbside collections. Here, again, questions about the
they hope to recycle, municipal planners must also I frequency of collection were specific to each material
decide on the city's role in the recycling program in case any were collected on different schedules. t
'
beyond its instigation Will public participation will be' NSWMA asked each state's office of solid waste to
required by local ordinance? Will collections will be ' identify the 10 or 12 most notable or successful pro -
made by a private contractor? If so, will the contractor grams in that state. Twenty-eight
be solely responsible for both the marketing of mate- , more states
programs
es responded,
rials and the details of operations? - = werre e yielding more rec
w la ter r 187 addded ed later Several to this list.
The recyclables to be discussed are limited to news-
By C.L. PETTIT print, aluminum, ferrous metal (tin cans), and glass.
Corrugated and other kinds of paper were not consid-
Pettit is the research analyst in NSWMA's Technical Department. ered because sources for these recyclables are pri-
i
Waste AperJuy 1986 49
Recycling Contd. .
Table One
Overview of Respondent Recycling Programs
Total Financial Total Disposal Service Area
Respondent Revenue Support Tonnage* Fee Population
Hamburg, N.Y. 15,760 Yes 840 12.00 10,000
Burrington, R.I. 72,620 No 1,103 18.00 16,600
Dover, N.J. .8,500 Yes 260 11.00 15,000
Bowie, Md. 600 No 40 25.00 30,000
St. Cloud, Minn. 9,230 No 378 18.00 9,000
Boca Raton, Fla. 3,700 No 3,700 16.00 59,000
N. Palm Beach 9,700 No 403 16.00 17,500
Madison, Wis. 50,000 No 2,000 10.00 170,000
Burbank, Calif. 250,000 No 5,816 6.50 87,000
Grand Rapids, Mich. 121,750 No 3,387 10.50 500,000
Sunnyvale, Calif. 199,990 Yes 3,249 30.00 113,000
Austin, Tex. 99,450 No 2,282 3.00 100,000
Montclaire, N.J. 153,829 Yes 3,089 11.00 38,000
Roxbury, N.J. no resp. No 614 33.00 19,000
Mecklenburg, N.C. 33,102 No 976 6.00 428,000
Palo Alto, Calif. 244,082 Yes 5,394 11.50 56,000
El Paso, Tex. no resp. No 1,275 4.50 425,000
Islip, N.Y. 349,715 • Yes 10,000 14.00 320,000
Monroe County, Pa. 20,650 Yes 335 34.50 70,000 i
Tift County, Ga. 6,300 Yes 144 0 33,000
Springfield, Pa. 14,513 Yes 1,589 10.50 20,000
Boynton Beach, Fla. 51,000 Yes 1,399 16.00 44,000 1
Boscobel, Wis. 1,100 No 102 16.00 2,662
. Gray, Maine 3,900 Yes 80 9.00 43,000 -
Guilford, Conn. 30,658 Yes 611 27.00 19,000
Rockford, III. 18,000 No 420 12.95 139,000 11
Montgomery County, Md. 380,100 No 12,670 31.00 190,000
Glastenbury, Conn. 14,507 No 905 16.45 27,000 C
Manitowoc County, Wis. 19,908 No 482 18.00 30,000 -
Wilkes Barre, Pa. 1,600 No 125 10.00 51,000
Croton -on- Hudson, N.Y. 15,500 no resp. 850 17.00 35,000 Re
W. Hartford, Conn. 61,200 no resp. 3,350 12.94 62,000 -
Wharton, N.J. 7,117 Yes 696 no resp. 5,485 Hz
Santa Rosa, Calif. 114,000 Yes 3,460 6.00 100,000 Bt.
W. Palm Beach, Calif. .22,600 No 942 16.00 67,500 Dc
Peekskill, N.Y. 20,000 No 1,000 9.00 35,000 Bc
Groton, Conn. no resp. Yes 2,500 6.00 41,000 St.
Warren County, Mo. 2,317 No 80 10.50 15,000 Bo
Ridgewood, N.J. 34,000 no resp. 1,446 11.00 25,000 N.
Lincoln Park, N.J. 5,718 Yes 255 no resp. 8,000 Ma
Santa Barbara, Calif. 129,950 Yes 4,870 16.00 150,000 Bin
Ann Arbor, Mich. 7,400 Yes 1,635 12.00 108,000 i Gra
Santa Monica, Calif. 50,230 Yes 15.10 no resp. 89,000 Sur
Au:
For newsprint, aluminum, tin cans, and glass. Data source: NSWMA research k Mor
Rox
Mec
marily commercial generators (ie., retail stores and lection centers. This form of collection has two major' El Pa lc
P
office buildings). Newsprint, metals and glass constitute advantages: its equipment, personnel and maintenance Islip
the common elements of most municipally instigated needs are minimal, and it ene Mor
programs. quality control Contributors arem orely to take Tift
Sprit
greater care in sorting. and screening the materials. A Boyr
consistently "clean" materials is also easier to " supply of material Bosc
Program design effectiveness Gra
market. Guilt
One of the first distinctions to be made in describing ' Conversely, a sole reliance on drop boxes and collec- Rock
- residential recycling is whether or not curbside colleo- tion centers can lead to lower participation and lower font
lions are part of the program ,^ volume of materials; residents may be unwilling to both I 'last
Mani:
Some programs simply set up drop boxes and/or col , sort and deliver their items. Curbside collection, how
'For ne
52 Waste AgelJuy 1986
1$.
•
ever, presents residents with a more convenient oppor- aggressive campaign to enforce mandatory
tunity to participate. participation.
Survey results indicate a schedule of curbside collec- r .
tion is practically essential to achieve high levels oft Sorting
participation. Of 13 responding municipalities that 7 Another distinction to be made in planning or •
require participation, all provide some sort of curbside , describing residential recycling is that of how the
collection, and all but two reported a participation rate' recyclables are sorted from one anothert Santa Rosa,
among househlds at or above 50%. ' Calif., residents are provided with a special container 1
Even without being required, participation is rela- for each type of recyclable material; residents them -
tively high where curbside collection is available. selves sort their items as newsprint, metals and glass.
Though none of the reported rates approach the 80% 0 In Islip, N.Y., recyclables are placed collectively. News -
and 90% levels occasionally found where participation ' print, aluminum, tin, and glass are placed curbside in a
is mandatory, 26 voluntary programs with curbside col - a single container, and sorted at a municipal facility The
lection reported an average 33% participation. . relative ease with which residents can simply sort
Assuming that recyclables account for an average recyclables from non - recyclables would seem to
25% of residential waste, one -third of households recy- encourage participation
cling one - fourth of their wastes would result in an 8% The responsibility for sorting recyclables from one 9
reduction in the waste stream coming from the service another, however, will not be the overriding considera- /
area. Any greater reduction in the waste stream would tion of a resident in his decision to participate. The ' __
probably require both curbside collection and an reported participation rate in Santa Rosa (70 %) is in / j
Table Two
Components of Respondent Recycling Programs
Frequency of
Participation Rate Materials Curbside "Same Day" % Reduction
Respondent Voluntary - Required Collected" Collection Collection Waste Stream
Hamburg, N.Y. 98 NP,GL weekly Yes 17
Burrington, R.I. 35 NP,GL monthly Yes 13
Dover, N.J. 7 NP weekly No 3
Bowie, Md. 1 GL weekly No 0.2
.- St. Cloud, Minn. ..44 : � NP,GL,A4 (monthly' `No. `ek,89
Boca Raton, FI no response NP weekly • No 12
•
N. Palm Beach 20 NP weekly Yes 5
Madison, Wis. 25 1 NP' weekly Yes r 2.5,i •
Burbank, Calif. 50 NP,GL,AL bi- weekly Yes 13
Grand Rapids, Mich. 10 NP,GL,AL,TN bi- monthly No 1
Sunnyvale, Calif. 42 NP,GL,AL weekly Yes 6
- Austin, Tex. 50 NP,GL,AL weekly Yes 4.5
h Montclaire, N.J. 80 NP,GL,AL biweekly No 16
Roxbury, N.J. 85 NP,GL,AL monthly Yes 7
— Mecklenburg, N.C. 18 NP,GL,AL weekly Yes 0.5
Palo Alto, Calif. 65 NP,GL,AL,TN weekly Yes 19
El Paso, Tex. 5 NP, (AL,TN) biwkly(bimonth) No 0.6
Islip, N.Y. 30 NP,GL,AL weekly No 6
Monroe County, Pa. 52 GL,AL weekly Yes 1
lift County, Ga. 60 NP bi- weekly Yes 1
Springfield, Pa. 65 NP,GL,AL,TN weekly Yes 15
Boynton Beach, FI. no response NP, AL none N/A 6
A Boscobel, Wis . ; 60 NP,GL,AL,TN 1 bi- monthI ' No 181
Gray, Maine • NP,GL none N/A 4
Guildford, Conn. NP,GL,AL none N/A 6.5
C- Rockford, III. 2 NP weekly Yes 0.7
Montgomery County, Md. 50 NP weekly No 12.5
Glastenbury, Conn. no response NP,GL,AL none N/A 6.5
, ti Manitowoc County, Wis.' - 30 r NP d monthly! No ' 3 1
'For newsprint, aluminum, tin cans, and glass. Data sourne: NSWMA research
WasteAgaVWy 1986 53
14.
Recycling Contd.
"fact much higher than in Islip (30 %). This is particu- "cling operation. Co
larly surprising, considering that participation in Islip is
required by local ordinance while in Santa Rosa it is Newsprint He
not.
Of the 41 survey respondents that collect newsprint, , R[
Scheduling, containers, service crews indicated that they had executed some sort of con
. Ii
with a buyer. Generally, these contracts are written to
Santa Rosa's success could be attributed to its pickup / last from one to five years; most specify that the buyer IS
schedule—sorted recyclables are collected on the same ' will pay the prevailing market price. Some contracts
day as regular trash service. This schedule is easy tog guarantee a floor price regardless of the market's yC
remember and doesn't require the resident to place 1 actions. St
materials more frequently than usual. Same -day collc-
lion a does make a difference: among 13 . The average tonnage of newsprint collected in 1984
apparently by the survey's respondents was 1,536 tons. The
required - participation programs, the average rate is average price for newsprint most recently received was
76.5% (n =5) for programs with a same -day schedule $28.55/ton. The highest price was $60 /ton in California
and 41% (n =8) for those without. Among voluntary pro- and the lowest was $14/ton in New Jersey. None of the
grams, the respective average rates are 36% vs. 26 %. respondents reported paying any price to residents.
One of the last and, for some, the most important • Recyclers of newsprint with contracts apparently do
distinction of a recycling program is that of whether not tend to receive a significantly
collections are made by the municipality, a private con - those without. The average prices respectively ces res Y were _
tractor, or a volunteer group. In our data set of 44 $29.59/ton and $29.91/ton. In the cases of glass and
respondents, 28 programs use municipal crews, 12 use metals, so few respondents operate with a supply Ion-
a private contractor and four use a volunteer group. tract it is difficult to compare averages and judge
Which is the lowest -cost service provider? That's part whether supply contracts tend to "lock in" prices.
of the much larger issue of privatization in general.
Common sense, however, suggests that crews familiar, Glass
with the service area will perform most effectively.?
Most respondents indicated collections were made by i The average tonnage of glass (all colors) collected by
the same municipal crews or private hauler responsible I the survey's respondents in 1984 was 387 tons. The
for regular trash service. I average price most recently received for mixed glass by
all respondents was $24.80/ton.
Markets and prices Color -sorted glass, particularly clear glass, generally
commands a higher price; four respondents indicated
Marketing recyclables is at least as important to a recy- that they received between $38 and $45 per ton
cling program as the arrangement under which mate - Whether the recycler should go to the expense of f
rials are collected. Residential recyclables are a low- sorting glass to obtain the premium will depend on the
value commodity The prices they command normally
relevant prices, volumes and costs. i
will not exceed those for
primary raw materials. Similarly, whether residents should be asked to
As a rule of thumb, recycling is justified only if the 4 color -sort the glass themselves will depend on the rev -
revenues generated, together with the "avoided disposal* enue to be gained compared to any participation that
costs" a community would have otherwise paid, are at '4 might be lost and all costs that would be incurred.
Least as great as the cost of collection, processing and !
marketing. Otherwise, the program will require some
sort of subsidy —a direct grant or indirect support from' Aluminum
of a general public works budget. ' Recycled aluminum is the highest - valued commodity of
The variable and generally unpredictable nature of all the secondary materials typically collected from resi-
prices for recyclables undermines the accuracy of esti- dential sources. Aluminum is also a small fraction of
mates for future revenues. An important consideration municipal waste. Nevertheless, because of its relatively
in judging the viability of a recycling program is high market value, aluminum is included in most
whether a secure market can be found. A legal con- * municipal programs.
tract guaranteeing the purchase of secondary materials" Recycled aluminum's relatively high value is due
over a specified term is a notable feature of any recy- largely to the high cost of mining and processing alu- _
54 Waste Age4JuPy 1986 le■
I LO '
.
..
w •K .
".
Recycling Contd. A.t
✓'
minum ores. The smelting of aluminum demands vast `
-
amounts of energy and large investments in capital Ti cans Tin (bi- metal) cans are not a primary target of,;
equipment. Aluminum recycling, however, deman ds residential recycling. Nevertheless, nine of 41 ,% onl enough capital and energy to collect, clean and respondents recycled tin cans. In four of these cases • '% - , it
lei
remelt the material and reshape it to specifications. t metal is either deposited at a drop box or placed -'i.
Twenty-five of the 41 respondents indicated that : ,44 . � :
curbside mixed with aluminum materials. The metals x • .:
they collect aluminum for recycling. Flve of these are separated later. The average tonnage m 1984 was
operated under a supply contract for the recycled 100 tons.
aluminum. The average was $536 per ton. An average price for recycled tin cans may be some- 5.
One recycler reportedly paid residents for their alu- what misleading. In four cases the material was simply FT p a ,',.
m at a buy-back center. Such an ement is "r,:` f
Y an'ang given away. In three cases the price received was
not uncommon — particularly among commercial recy- either $55 or $60 per ton and in one case the price a. r
clers operating independently of any municipal support was $5 per ton. ' "
or directive. Revenues from recycled tin apparently will not weigh £`
The average amount of aluminum recycled by the heavily in the equation that describes the cost and g
respondents in 1984 was 16.5 tons. Though this would benefits of any recycling program Still, the marginal
seem to have little effect on the conservation of landfill benefit of including tin cans in recycling may exceed
space, the revenues generated help support the recy- the marginal
cling costs where aluminum is already being
g of newsprint P and glass. collected, where sorting metals is cheap or is done by
residents, and where the materials can command a rea-
sonable price. II
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